forever girl
by saraahPM
Summary: When Tenzin asks his father how to ask out a girl. Linzin pre-canon.


"…Dad? Can I ask you for some advice?" asked a nervous Tenzin, peeking into Avatar Aang's study.

Aang looked towards his son with a wide smile. "Of course! Come in, Tenzin. Is this about your airbending training?"

"Not exactly. Um…" Tenzin squirmed uncomfortably, not meeting his father's eyes.

The avatar watched his son patiently, waiting for him to say what was on his mind. "Tenzin?"

"How do I ask out a girl, dad?" Tenzin blurted out, his entire face turning a deep red. His eyes were glued to his feet, and he hadn't felt this embarrassed before in his entire life.

_Ah. Lin, _Aang thought, smiling. "Come here, son. I'm going to tell you how you can get the girl of your dreams. But before I tell you, remember; this is a line you can only say to one girl in your entire life."

Tenzin grinned, running towards his dad.

* * *

Lin Beifong was sitting at the edge of a cliff on Air Temple Island, looking intently at the statue of Avatar Aang in the distance. The gentle wind was blowing through her dark hair as she aimlessly rocked her legs back and forth.

"Lin!" came a familiar voice, and she turned around to see her childhood friend Tenzin running towards her. At the age of seventeen, Tenzin had just recently become an airbending master, and had received his arrows from the avatar himself. She always did a double take whenever she saw her friend these days, her heart beating faster at the sight of him.

She blinked, immediately getting rid of the goofy smile that she knew had appeared on her face, and resuming her usual scowl. "You'd better have a good reason for making me come all the way here, airhead," she said, crossing her arms over her light green summer dress. It had only been a few months since Lin had turned sixteen; and since Tenzin had started seeing his best friend as something more than that. The rough and tough Lin Beifong, who always beat him in a fight, who was stronger than anyone her age in the city, had suddenly become…well, a girl.

Tenzin had started noticing how the light danced off of her emerald eyes, and how her hair flowed perfectly in the breeze. How her face softened during one of her rare smiles and…Tenzin gulped. And her _curves. _How he had never noticed them before, Tenzin didn't know. But he knew now, and he knew that he wanted Lin to be his.

"Lin. Um. There's something I wanted to tell you…" Tenzin fidgeted, fumbling for words.

"Just spit it out, Tenzin! I don't have all day, you know!"

He gulped and looked at her, straight into her eyes, and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Baby, you're my forever girl," he said seriously, and brushed his lips against hers; the briefest of kisses. As soon as he moved his lips away and looked into her eyes at such a close proximity, he immediately took his hands off of her and stumbled back, nearly tripping over his own feet.

Lin blinked rapidly, her heartbeat elevating to a point where she was sure she would go into cardiac arrest at any time. "Tenzin…" She wasn't quite sure what he had just said to her, but…did Tenzin just kiss her? Her fingers flew to her lips and she shook her head, snapping back to reality.

"Is that how you ask out a girl, airhead? What kind of lame pickup line is that anyways?" She tried to be angry at him, but she couldn't help laughing as she bounced pebble after pebble off of his bald head. "Your _forever _girl? What does that even mean?" She fell to the ground, doubling over in laughter.

Tenzin pouted, not knowing whether he should be offended by her reaction, or glad she hadn't killed him. "My father told me that line…" he began to protest.

"Tenzin, you airhead! Your father is nearly 150 years old! Are you really going to use such old-timey pickup lines on me? I mean…" The rest of her words were lost in laughter.

Her laughter was contagious, and Tenzin eventually caught the giggles as well. Soon, the both of them were laying side by side, their laughter turning into giggles which then turned into silence.

"So…_will_ you be my forever girl?" he asked again, turning on his side to face her.

"You know, if you had asked any other girl that question more than once, she might have punched you… but…yes. I'll be your forever girl, airhead," Lin said, grabbing onto his robes and pulling him in for their second kiss.

* * *

Lin's entire torso was still bandaged after her encounter with a triad had gone terribly wrong. This triad of skilled electricity manipulating firebenders had cornered her, and not even her metal wires could stop them from electrocuting her from all sides.

She had sustained terrible burns all over her body, but she had soon learned that the injuries were not only on the surface. The doctors had informed her that she would never be able to bear children. Ever.

"You said _forever,_" Lin whispered, tears streaming down her face. Her tears fell onto a picture of Tenzin and herself, a few years after they had started dating. On its back, he had scrawled the same words he had used to ask her out.


End file.
